Servias Ministries Blog

Brother Sikes wrote:

As mentioned, the “God Thing” can never get done as long as we are doing “our thing,” or said differently, God starts when we stop, and God stops when we start. When we violate the boundaries of the Spirit, we enter into doing our own thing, and it is here that we again face John 5:30, “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” When our true motive is not “to please ourselves,” we will begin to hear with clarity. When we can honestly say that we have been removed as the source of our direction, then the Spirit of God is free to direct us with specifics. Why? Because now our sole focus is obedience without interference from outside motives of self. Obedience is strong within us because the desire to glorify God, through our obedience, is greater than the desire to please self. When we launch into this condition of heart, we launch into the rest of God, because now my sole purpose is to glorify God through my obedience. My will, my way, my wishes are now secondary to God’s.

What I am learning, as first taught by Arthur Burt, is that “the greater always includes the lesser.” The greater, my obedience for God’s glory, always includes the lesser, my needs being met. Why do we take into our own hands what God intends to give us anyway? Because we have left the rest, because we have again become our own source and resource!

There are measures that can and will quickly tell us when and where we have left the rest of God. The following little phrase has been around for years, but honestly pegs the question of rest. The amount of stress in one’s life is directly proportional to the areas Jesus is not Lord over. If Jesus is made to truly be Lord over a situation, we will not stress over that situation. Testing is the time that determines whether or not we have truly entered the rest. The battle has two fronts: restlessness on the outside created by circumstances, and restlessness on the inside created by doubt and fear. True rest will produce victory on the inside and is the best way to insure victory on the outside. “So as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, During The Time Of Testing in the desert” (Hebrews 3:8). The time of testing is the time of revealing what is really in us. As we have stated many times, “Circumstances do not make the man, they simply reveal him to himself. A test will reveal one of two things – rest or restlessness!

REST REMOVAL FACTORS

What will remove or prevent you from the rest of God quicker than any other factor? SELFISHNESS. The KJV in James states, “Where there is envy and strife there is confusion and every evil work.” Envy is a vicious form of selfishness. When we exalt and put ourselves above anything or anybody else, it is guaranteed that the rest and restoration of God will be lost. What will get you back into the rest the quickest? Putting God and others first; putting others ahead of self (I Corinthians 10:24). A willingness to do this is a sure sign of release, which spontaneously puts you back into the rest, which ultimately produces restoration. What produces God’s miracles and favor the quickest? Selflessness through obedience FOR GOD’S GLORY, which will always spawn God’s favor in your life because THE GREATER ALWAYS INCLUDES THE LESSER. From personal experience, the lesser is abundantly beyond what you can even imagine. I have seen a number of financial miracles that spawned as a result of putting others ahead of self. What started as a selfless acts ended in financial miracles. This continues in my life today. “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:24).

Self-interest is a peace robber; selflessness is a peace giver. Selfishness will eradicate rest and deny restoration very quickly. As stated, what I have learned in business, which I am sure applies in other areas of life, is that selfless acts based on fairness and putting others first, will bring God’s hand and favor into the deal in incredible ways. If you are a businessman, lose the naïve notion that you must use your great skills and intellect to make money for the Kingdom – God doesn’t need your skills or your money, He needs your yielded heart! Forego the World’s System for your reward and gain the Kingdom’s method of receiving. Being yielded will require being selfless, which will result in God’s immediate favor and restoration.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by the good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or DENY THE TRUTH. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly (a product of the World’s System), unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest in righteousness” (James 3:14-18).

Brother Sikes wrote:

The first major factor in entering or returning to the rest of God is the knowledge that YOU ARE NOT IN IT! Of equal importance is the knowledge, that for a period of time you can walk in His rest in certain areas and be out of it in others. Eventually, however, restlessness will take its toll in those areas as well.

As we become sensitive to factors that remove us from the rest we become more apt to stay in it. We will address this in more detail later. Our peace and joy are the first things to go, and joy is the source of our spiritual, mental, and physical strength. From here we begin to experience confusion and anxiety, and finally, we see that in giving up our rest, our physical bodies begin to suffer extraordinary fatigue and even sickness. Migraine headaches tormented me for years, but as I have yielded to the rest of God, they have become practically non-existent. To reiterate, the progression is first a lack of peace and joy, which introduces confusion and anxiety, then fatigue and eventually sickness.

In examining the cause for Adam’s fall from rest to restlessness in Genesis 3, where the desire to self-rule caused the original fall of man, we again see scriptural evidence that when we take God’s place and begin to self-rule, we fall into the trap of our own carnality and leave “the rest” of God. Make no mistake about it; self-rule in the eyes of God is the highest form of selfish ambition. With that understanding, let us examine a poignant New Testament scripture – “For where you have selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16). There is no greater form of “selfish ambition” than to rule what is designed to be led by God’s Spirit (Romans 8:14). The disorder, or lack of it, in our lives today is gauged by our propensity to rule self strictly through intellect rather than God’s Spirit.

When we worry, when we doubt, when we fear, when we accept an evil report, we are accepting that God cannot be trusted. It is during these times that we are inclined to come up with something to help ourselves and form our own direction. It is during this hour of testing that we are revealed. How many Ishmael’s must I birth before I realize that God only desires Isaac? God’s purpose can never be found in the life of Ishmael, only in Isaac. One of God’s loudest prophetic pronouncements for this hour – Ishmael and Isaac can no longer live in the same house! Works of the flesh can no longer live comfortably with life in the Spirit. Ishmael will always taunt Isaac.

Upon recognizing that we have left the rest, we now have an incumbent responsibility to re-enter the rest. We must recognize that there will be no restoration without we first enter into the rest. There are times that we must labor, even fight to get back into the rest of God (Hebrews 4:11), but just how do we do this? If we have recognized that we have left the rest, and that the aforementioned downward spiral is now taking place in our lives, what must we do to return to the rest? We must first identify the areas in which we left (the rest); areas that we have stepped back into depending upon self. Once we recognize the area or areas, we must repent and RELEASE everything to God (Isaiah 30:15) and strive, even fight in the Spirit to stay in the rest. We must recognize who is sitting on the throne of our hearts – us or God?

Release is the key to rest. Recognize and practice this key because it also is also the key to walking in true Sonship, without which there is no Kingdom walking, no Kingdom power, and no Kingdom inheritance in this earth (Romans 8:14-17). What you cannot truly release to God, you cannot truly rest in. There will never be rest without release. Let me risk redundancy by writing this again – There will never be rest without release. Release is as tantamount to rest as sun is to light. Release is often impossible with man, but what is impossible with man is possible with God. When we humble ourselves before God, the grace will come to enable us to release our fears, cares, concerns, and ambitions to God. ONLY HUMILITY will draw the enabling grace; not a false carnal humility, but rather a Godly humility that allows us to come as a little child, broken but confident that “our Father will.”

As we begin to press back into the rest by ceasing from our own efforts, we soon see the revelation of Hebrews 4:10 (Amplified), “For he who has once entered God’s rest also has ceased from the (weariness and pain) of human labors, just as God rested from those labors…”

Once we recognize that we are back into doing our own thing, we must quickly “cease from our own labor,” or as the NIV states, “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rest from his own work…” The “God Thing” can never get done as long as we are doing “our thing.” In order to enter into the true rest, where we are able to flow with the Spirit of God, we must RELEASE everything to God, even labor to stay in the rest. “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall…” (Hebrews 4:11). Rest is a prerequisite to restoration. Rest will initiate restoration as surely as restlessness will stop it! God is in the restoring business and desires us to recover all, but for this season to be initiated in our lives we must ACCEPT that restoration will only come through our “rest” in Him. God cannot and will not work through our anxiety, bitterness, backbiting, fear and complaining.

Brother Sikes wrote:

John 5:30 is an anthem of this prophetic hour – “By myself I can do nothing…” Exceeding the boundaries of God, even in the innocence of presumption will have costly consequences! This penalty is not being orchestrated for our harm, but for our eventual good because the age requires complete understanding and patient discipline in carrying out our assignment upon the earth. Like David in 2 Samuel 6:1-13, I have often received God’s ‘direction’ without awaiting His ‘how to,’ the end result being a quagmire in which I wallowed in the mess of my own impatience. Flesh cannot touch what God is doing. Ismael and Isaac cannot live in the same house. Those who have begun to see the end of themselves will no doubt recognize this type experience, and too recognize that impatience is a stout enemy to walking in this deeper place with God.

STEER US TO THE REST, LORD

Before leaving the subject of “exceeding boundaries” let us recognize its vast importance in Kingdom dynamics. Many are shocked to see the words “selfish ambition” in Galatians 5 linked with sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, drunkenness, orgies, etc., Ambition is respected in the World’s System, even considered a worthy character trait; hence we often see the World’s System nestled in the Church in the form of mega churches and television ministries built upon the appetites and ambitions of men rather than God. Mega ministries are not the only evidence of man’s ambitious nature in the Church. Many pastors, music ministers, and church leaders are products of their own ambition. Elder boards are filled with successful businessmen and community leaders, not for their spirituality but rather their worldly success. Much of the carnality of today’s Church is a result of man’s ambitious nature. In business, we see Christian businessmen trying to ‘get ahead’ using their own striving nature to achieve their purpose in God, a trait I am all too familiar with.

In order to tap into “God starting” something in our lives, we must yield the deepest part of our being, even our dreams and ambitions; and this is where many will get off of the bus, because we are unwilling to give up our dreams and ambitions. The irony is however, that if we would, we would find that God has something even better! Many are missing their inheritance because they are in the wrong arena, launched there by ambitions. God is looking for a few dead men! What we are speaking of here is completely losing our lives in exchange for His (Matthew 10:39/John 12:24). Most of us have found it easy enough to give up the appetites of the flesh, but impossible to give up the appetites of the soul – specifically, our dreams and ambitions, even our desire for a mate. God sees our heart and inherently knows what we are willing to submit to Him and what we are not. Since our dreams and ambitions are so deeply personal to us, coupled by the fact that they cannot be seen in an outward way, we tenaciously cling to and are unwilling to submit them to God. To us, they represent the inner core of what we want out of life. These are always the last bastions of strength in self’s war against God.

It is also important to remember that Satan was kicked out of heaven and sent to earth

because of his ambitious nature. The bible identifies him as the god of this world and his force rules many. This (almost) hidden spirit, unlike lust and other forms of obvious demonic spiritual activity, is often operating in us without our knowledge. Since, as the Bible states, satan is the subtlest beast in the field, we have been sold the bill of goods that self-appointed ambition is a good thing. As an evidence of the subtly and acceptance of this spirit, most of us ignorantly impose some of these ambitious appetites upon those we love the most – our own children! Often our acceptance of our children is based on how well they perform to our expectations, and our rejection of them when they do not. The challenge remains to muster the courage to yield ourselves completely to God for His expectations of us, not ours or anybody else’s.

Self-rule is a dangerous thing to a man or woman of destiny. What caused the fall of man initially was the desire to exceed the boundaries established by God: Man wanting to be God in his own life (Genesis 3:1-6). The temptation in Genesis had to do with limits. Man was originally purposed to respect God’s limits for him and trust Him (God) that these limits were for his (man’s) own good; NOT barriers to his growth and freedom as satan proclaimed. Man fell for the temptation because he saw the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as something that would give him power to supply his own needs (food), give him power over himself and the environment by making him wise, and make him a god by knowing good and evil. In other words, man would become independent of his Creator and God’s imposed limits on him, and man could use his own resources of self-acquired wisdom and self-acquired ability to solve problems and create what he wanted. Remember this if nothing else you read; this continues to be our individual battle today! The antithesis of learning how to tap into God’s power within us is to constantly tap into our own strength, ability, intellect, and wisdom, the result of which is stress, toil, strain and fatigue. Stress, toil, strain, and fatigue are sure signs that we are not living and walking in the “rest” of God, a place of complete and total trust where we allow nothing to rattle us: A place in which we completely trust that all things we will ever encounter are of, through, and to God (Romans 11:36), hence whatever we face we can face with confidence if we are walking in the rest.

Brother Sikes wrote:

Forerunners are called to sink the plow of God’s truth into the hard ground of men’s hearts and plow up hard ground caused by tradition, wounds and experiences from the past, religion, and faithlessness: Perhaps this is just such a prophetic message, with directional teaching to guide us into the prophetic and physical realities awaiting our proper response.

We have entered a prophetic hour of restoration within the Body of Christ. God desires His people to walk as a victorious people, called to Kingdom power upon the earth. It is an hour of generational prophetic destiny in which God has ordained His people to walk in power, favor, and blessing. Initially, only those remnant few who have truly learned to enter “His rest” will touch this supernatural occurrence, laying a foundation and example for the masses to follow. Many unknowns to the people with an apostolic and prophetic call are emerging from years in the cave and now showing early signs of foundational restoration. Most, in these ranks, are no-names within the Body of Christ, those who have been deemed failures and misfits, and for the most part rejected by the religious establishment.

“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For the prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21).

I hear the words ‘recover’ and ‘recovery’ in my spirit. We are in a time of recovery in which everything stolen is being returned, but of almost equal importance I also see recovery uniquely tied to “the rest” of God. “Rest” and “recovery” are virtually synonymous terms in this unique prophetic hour. Since early 2003, prophetic voices seemed to awaken to this fascinating phenomenon of rest and restoration. I feel God saying even more now than ever to “speak it.” Judge this word, as I strongly sense that we have entered a time of restoration.

PROPHETIC WORD

Recover! Your recovery has begun. Settle into my rest and the “suddenlies” will birth almost spontaneously. Trust me to completely restore you. You were purchased with a price and sealed by My Spirit, all of which translates into an inheritance upon this earth called “your destiny.” Find the good way and walk in it for there is treasure along this path. I will restore the years the locusts have eaten, the great destroying army that was sent against you. You will drink from wells you did not dig and live in houses you did not build, for my hand of favor and blessing are upon you (your house).

In God’s magnificent way, in His magnificent timing, He often marries prophetic truth, which is His part, with His commands to us, which are our part. When we engage these commands successfully, His prophetic promise manifest in our lives. Such, I believe, is the essence of what is written here.

I have walked in “the rest” of God at times, and known its existence for years, but only recently come into an understanding that allows me to apply it daily. Even with this new understanding, I must labor daily to evidence its workings. I am constantly having to kill the “old nature” to escape the trap of the natural, and thus propel myself into this extraordinary force of God’s spiritual law, allowing me to walk in and experience the supernatural. In short, obedience propels us into the supernatural, just as disobedience binds us to the natural.

This revelation is a major key to getting into place and position with God through which destiny and purpose can come forth. Obedience is the ‘place,’ just as rest is the ‘position.’ Perhaps it is simply the hour God has chosen to awaken the Body to the revelation that “When I stop, God starts, and when I start, God stops.” It is an extension of Jesus’ words in John 5:30, “By myself I can do nothing…” It is the recognition that I can only do what I see and hear the Father doing (John 5:17-20), that I have boundaries (1 Corinthians 7:17) (2 Corinthians 10:13), and to exceed those boundaries is to leave the peace, protection, and provision of my heavenly Father. In my ‘old nature’, I am drawn to my own fears, traditions, training, appetites, ambitions and pride; all of which work against my walking in the prophetic Kingdom power (Galatians 5:16-21) available, and all of which cause me to leave “the rest” of God. When I allow myself to be pulled by these forces, I allow myself to leave “the rest” of God, and like dominoes’ ambition,  my restlessness pulls me back into doing my own thing.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 2 Corinthians chapter 6:

14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

15 And what accord (harmony) has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

​​​“I will dwell in them ​​And walk among them. ​​I will be their God, ​​And they shall be My people.”

We cannot have mismatched alliances with those who do not believe in the purity of The Way of Christ which has a foundation of Agape Love.  There are those who would teach and promote another gospel based on works and conditional love which attempts to nullify or negate Christ’s work at the Cross.  Their teaching attempts to move us back to the Old Testament thinking where physical works are required to satisfy certain conditions of GOD.  The work done at the Cross is omitted thus we must constantly measure up with works in order to be accepted as “Sons”.  It’s all conditional. “If we do this, then GOD will do that.”  This is the essence of conditional love.

FATHER Loved us before we Loved HIM.  HE saved me before I did anything to deserve salvation.  It was a free gift from a Loving Father through HIS Son, Jesus Christ.  Any other doctrine is simply religion and we must not be unequally yoked with those who teach this doctrine. 

Who is Belial?  This word comes from a Hebrew word defined in the Concordance #H1100.  My friend Alan provides a better understanding of this word:

The emphasis of this word is in that of negation, negativity.  The first part of this compound word comes from the same root/idea that we derive the word ‘babylon’; or babel.  The word babel (Strong’s #H894  lbb ) is generally recognized as ‘confusion’.  I have traditionally accepted this generic definition, and used it often.  But I now see that the word has a much more intense and personal application.  The two letter word of lb, (Strong’s # 1077, 1078) is used quite often in the Old Testament, but the vast majority of that usage is in the form of simple negation; can not, will not, did not, could not, etc.  It is simply communicating negation.  There are other words communicating not, or negation, but are spelled differently and tend to have different emphasis and implications.  But the use of this word in the compound that makes up ‘babel’ (894) has a much more intimate application.  In ‘babel’, the word ‘bl’ (#1077) is preceded by another b, and should be best understood as being “in confusion”. We all get confused about some matter at one time or another. But to be “in confusion” indicates being in a state of mind that either cannot, or more likely will not, consider being wrong or misinformed or having misunderstood a thing. The letter ‘beyt’ indicates a dwelling place; a place where you live. To be ‘in confusion’ indicates living in a state of negativity and denial, or belligerence; hence, the parable that says “There is none so blind as he who refuses to see”. One that refuses to see, or be corrected, cannot be helped. They must have a complete reversal of thought process to be helped. I hope that makes sense.

Now, back to ‘belial’. The Hebrew spelling of ‘belial’ gives the clue. L[ylb The Hebrew verb l[ (Strong’s #H 5921) represents the ability of ascension; to come up higher. But this word is really communicating the ability to ascend in your natural thinking, or level of understanding, or ability to be taught higher things. This word is rampant throughout Biblical Hebrew, and many times is used when a person physically ascends to higher ground, or to a more desirable location. The first letter in this word, the ‘ayin’, indicates learning by the five senses; taste, feel, hear, see, smell. These are all natural senses, and are no way indicative of ‘seeing by the Spirit’. The Spirit must reveal to you what your natural senses (the ‘ayin’) are telling you. So to ascend is referring to the ascension of your natural instincts and natural senses; an ascension of natural understanding. Now the word ‘belial’ makes more sense to me than ever before. The first part of the word, ylb indicates one that personally refuses to change. It’s not that he can’t change, but that he does not want to change. If one doesn’t want to change, they won’t change. ‘Belial’ is one that refuses to ascend by changing the way they think; the way they hear; the way they relate to others. Belial is a refusal to ‘come up higher’. And in that condition, nothing can change until the Spirit of God gives the one that is ‘belial’ a change of heart condition.

Sadly, we must accept the fact that some will refuse to “come up higher”.  Let us continue to mature and be a standard of Truth.  Let us pray that FATHER open the eyes and the hearts of those who refuse to change.

Jesus spoke in John chapter 14:

1  “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe[confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.”  AMPL

How can we believe if we do not have knowledge of FATHER’S Word?  How can we trust FATHER if we are not aware of HIS promises?  The issue is quite simple even though our minds would draw us unto complexity thus steering us away from simple belief and trust.  The basis of our belief and trust in FATHER must be grounded on the revelation of Agape Love.  Our Heavenly Father always has our best interest at heart and as we trust in that reality, we will walk in peace and joy.

When I became sick unto death on two different occasions, FATHER told me that I was “void” of HIS Word.  I had allowed the “world” to enter into my thinking and had not been meditating on HIS Word in the area of healing for some time.  Unbelief can creep into our hearts as we are constantly exposed to man’s ways and doctrines and without keeping FATHER’S Word before us in those same areas of focus.  We become dull of hearing.  We become spiritually “out of shape” and can no longer run the race set before us.  Our primary focus must be kept on FATHER’S promises so that our faith IN HIM will remain strong.

Jesus spoke:

12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

In the Old Covenant, the children of Israel had to perform in order to satisfy the requirements of the Law and blessing.  Jesus tells us in the New Covenant, “If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it.”  Our trust and belief must be on Jesus’ ability to perform on our behalf, not our ability.  We don’t need to perform in order for FATHER to heal us, only believe.  Unbelief in our hearts must be dealt with in order to bring forth the fullness of what FATHER wants to do in our lives.  In response to FATHER’S Word to me concerning the “void”, I focused on HIS Word each day in order to remove any unbelief found in my heart preventing me from receiving HIS healing power in my life.  My hope was reignited.

Hope is the expectation of FATHER’S Word to manifest in our lives.  Wisdom wrote in Proverbs chapter 13:

12 ​​Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

​​But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

As we focus on FATHER’S Word in the area of our need, our expectation grows into full expectation that HE will perform HIS Word on our behalf.  Why?  Because HE Loves us and has our best interest in mind at all times.  As our expectation increases, our trust in the expected outcome increases.  This expectation roots out the unbelief found in our hearts.  We understand that our faith is based on HIS willingness to act, not our ability or actions.  Did FATHER tell me to read and dwell on HIS Word for a certain number of days then HE would heal me?  No, the issue was related to the unbelief which had entered in because of lack of focus in that area.  I was not going to be healed by works but by reestablishing HIS Truth in my heart in the area of healing.  When we constantly hear other doctrines and methods of healing by the world, we begin to trust in those methods rather than FATHER’S Word.  Our belief in the world’s inferior methods increases and our trust in FATHER’S superior methods decrease.  We become reliant on our sense knowledge at the expense of our Spiritual knowledge and understanding.  Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 17:

14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,

15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”

18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus rebuked the disciples for their unbelief.  Faith must be developed in order to tackle those overwhelming events confronting each of us at various times in our lives.  The key is to replace unbelief with belief in FATHER and the work Jesus did on the cross for you and me.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  FATHER is willing to cure us completely, resolve every issue confronting us, and minister peace and joy in our hearts.  Our responsibility is to believe!

It is written by THE SPIRIT in Numbers chapter 21:

4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.

5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”

6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

There are dramatic consequences when one speaks against Our Heavenly Father and/or HIS anointed.  Ultimately, judgment comes upon those whose hearts become hardened from self-preservation at the expense of others.  The bread which sustained them was now deemed worthless for they had forgotten the miracle of life contained within the bread.  They were no longer thankful for the bread of life which caused their bodies to be in health.  The children of Israel had forgotten the covenant FATHER made with them in Exodus chapter 15 when HE spoke:

26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

The fiery serpents represented death to those who were lawless to the Word spoken to them.  Once judgment arrived, people came to the realization of their sin and repented but the issue of being bitten required a solution else they would die from their sickness produced by the poison.

7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Once the children repented and confessed their sins, FATHER provided for their healing and prefigured Christ on the cross by having Moses raise up the serpent on the pole.  HE gave them specific instructions for their forgiveness and healing.  They were to look at and focus on the brazen serpent on a pole, a type of Calvary.  The Beloved Disciple wrote by THE SPIRIT in John chapter 3:

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so (for the same purpose) must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

How many were healed when they looked upon the brazen serpent?  Everyone.  If everyone was healed then, How much more should everyone be healed who look upon Jesus to be healed now.  The poisoned serpent bite resulted in death then, the wages of sin is death today (Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.).  Today, whosoever believeth is given the same commitment to salvation and Divine health.

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

When the children looked on the serpent, they received forgiveness of their sin and healing for their bodies.  How much more should we emphasize the work on the Cross yet many believers have allowed themselves to accept only half of what the Cross represents.  Their senses have caused them to think that the cross is primarily intended for salvation.  We must refocus our attention on the other aspect of the Cross and include the revelation of healing as well.  Traditions of men have allowed our thinking to be “poisoned” and have compromised the effectiveness and intent of the work of Christ at the Cross.  What would have happened to the children of Israel if they would have only accepted the forgiveness aspect of the serpent on the pole?  They would have died from sickness.  Let us ponder, look at, and set our gaze on the fullness of the Cross today and remove the incomplete teachings of the past from our midst.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 2 Corinthians chapter 6:

14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

​​​“I will dwell in them ​​And walk among them. ​​I will be their God, ​​And they shall be My people.”

​17 Therefore

​​​“Come out from among them ​​And be separate, says the Lord. ​​Do not touch what is unclean, ​​And I will receive you.”

18 ​​“I will be a Father to you, ​​And you shall be My sons and daughters, ​​Says the LORD Almighty.”

What greater commitment can THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY have toward us than to have the relationship with us as FATHER!  We are to separate ourselves from fellowship with unbelievers and lawlessness.  Further, we are to remove any and all idols from our midst.  Does this mean we should have no contact with unbelievers?  Absolutely not, for Jesus had no issue in ministering to unbelievers which happened to be everyone at the time.  Ministry and fellowship are two different things.

What is an idol?  It is an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship; is “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.”  This can be a very touchy subject with people because their perception of an idol is based on what is found deep within their heart.  Many would say that there is nothing more important to them than GOD, but they secretly wish for more money, popularity, etc.

FATHER wants nothing to hinder our relationship with HIM, especially something which would draw away our focus.  Because HE is pure, we should become pure in order that we are perfectly aligned with HIM and HIS Will.  We must allow our flesh to die along with all its idols so that we can become fully cleansed and purified by HIS Word.  FATHER has provided the means for us to have this close, intimate relationship with HIM and provide for us in all areas as any FATHER would.

Which would you prefer, to fellowship with unbelievers who would throw you “under the bus” without second thoughts or, a Loving FATHER who will protect you from that bus?  Paul began this chapter with:

1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

2 For He says: ​​​“In an acceptable time I have heard you, ​​And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” ​Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

What better time to focus on our relationship with FATHER?

It is written by THE SPIRIT in Hebrews chapter 3:

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ​​​“Today, if you will hear His voice,

8 ​​Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, ​​In the day of trial in the wilderness,

9 ​​Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, ​​And saw My works forty years.

10 ​​Therefore I was angry with that generation, ​​And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, ​​And they have not known My ways.’

11 ​​So I swore in My wrath, ​‘​They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

What kept the children of Israel from entering into the Promised Land?  Unbelief in FATHER’S Word.  HE delivered them from a life of toil in Egypt yet they had no faith in HIS Word when it came time to enter the Promised Land of rest.  They then saw HIS works for forty years but did not know HIS Ways.  FATHER wants us to enter into HIS Rest today and quit striving.  In chapter 4:

1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

​​​“So I swore in My wrath, ​‘​They shall not enter My rest,’ ” ​although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

It is FATHER’S Divine Intent for us to enter into HIS rest and we must do it by faith.  When we strive to make things happen by our own will and power, we are not entering into HIS rest.  When we are led by THE SPIRIT, respond to FATHER’S directives, and act accordingly, we have entered into HIS rest.  I look back over 45 years and see this Truth to be abundantly clear in my life time and time again.  There are many instances when I took matters into my own hands and expended much time, energy, and money in order to produce results.  In other instances, FATHER directed me to act and provided the necessary resources to accomplish much more without the toil.  Now I can tell the difference between the two paths and when to correct myself, and cease from my own works.  It is imperative for us to focus on being led by THE SPIRIT… daily!

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Philippians chapter 4:

8  Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

9  The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things [in daily life], and the God [who is the source] of peace and well-being will be with you.  AMPL

As we dwell and meditate on FATHER’S Word and take our focus away from the chaos of the world, we will by faith enter into HIS rest and life will become joyful, even as the chaos all around us continues.  Let us take verse 8 and respond by embracing and acting on it without exception.  Now is the time!

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 2 Corinthians chapter 10:

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

5 casting down arguments (imaginations, thoughts) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

We are to cast out lies, arguments, and imaginations as we take on the mind of Christ thus we disarm the flesh with the Word of GOD.  The old man would try to convince us of another path to take based on some lie, typically created by a doctrine that has infiltrated our thinking by adding man’s logic to the Word.  This is why we must come to trust in The Holy Spirit Who is resident within us even though we may have difficulty in hearing THE SPIRIT.  People ask me from time to time how to hear The Holy Spirit.  I wish I had some standard reply but I would say that it might take prayer and fasting to subdue our mind, will, and emotions which tend to dull our sensitivity.  Our mind wants to challenge any attempt to give up control of our thoughts and actions.

A stronghold is defined as:

1. a castle, stronghold, fortress, fastness

2. anything on which one relies

   1. of the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavors to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent

Anything in which the mind wants to defend against The Pure Word is a stronghold.  As we mature, we must be pliable to hear a deeper revelation or correction to what we were taught by man when we were immature.  There were doctrines taught which were based on one verse and taken out of context.  As an immature believer, I assumed the preacher to be right in what he was teaching us.  The doctrine he presented sounded right at the time but later I found that he was wrong.  He wasn’t malicious in his intent but he nevertheless directed us into religion rather than the life found in The Word.

Without the knowledge of GOD, how can we bring every thought into captivity and disarm the flesh?  Without dying to the flesh, how can we live in the full obedience in Christ?  As we disarm the flesh and disarm the old man’s thought life, we will become more sensitive to being led by The Holy Spirit and we will rest in our walk on a daily basis.  Our mind will become quiet and willing to be led by THE SPIRIT.